HBOS trio could face City bans

Three former HBOS directors blamed for the banking group's collapse in a damning report may be banned for life as company directors. Business Secretary Vince Cable has ordered a probe to see if enough evidence can disqualify the trio.

Vince Cable has asked his officials to see if there is enough evidence against Lord Stevenson, the former HBOS chairman, Sir James Crosby, the former chief executive, and Andy Hornby, his successor, to start a formal probe under the Company Directors Disqualification Act.

Mr Cable told The Sunday Times (£) it was the first step in a process which could lead to the three - who have so far not faced formal sanction - being barred from acting as company directors.

He told the newspaper:

It's quite a legalistic process. I can ask (officials) to look at whether the companies investigations branch take action. We do have this power which I have begun to initiate.

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Business Secretary Vince Cable has requested evidence which could lead to a City ban for the three former HBOS bosses whose "toxic misjudgments" were blamed for the bank's 2008 collapse, BBC News has reported.

It claims Mr Cable was "outraged" at Friday's damning Parliamentary report and has begun "formal proceedings" which could see Andy Hornby, Lord Stevenson and Sir James Crosby disqualified as company directors.

Andy Hornby was chief executive of HBOS until it was rescued by Lloyds (which was then rescued with £20bn bailout from taxpayers) in September 2008. He resigned as chief executive of Alliance Boots in 2011.

Currently chief executive of sports betting company Coral, who said today he has the "complete backing" of the board and is doing a "great job".

Lord Dennis Stevenson

Lord Stevenson of Coddenham. Credit: Press Association

Lord Dennis Stevenson was made a life peer in 1999, and sits on the cross benches of the House of Lords. He was chairman of HBOS until 2008. He has now returned to his venture capital roots, mainly through Loudwater Investment partners.

He has held a number of non-executive director positions, including at the Western Union, and the Economist.

In a blistering report cataloguing the "catastrophic failures" of management, Mr Tyrie said the taxpayers are still paying for the mistakes of individual bankers who walked away with huge sums of money, and called on the government to address "bonus culture."

Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said the report shows the need for a "big change in culture" to make banks work for their customers.

This is another shocking example of the failures of individual bankers and the Financial Services Authority (FSA), and shows again why we need a big change in banking.

The Financial Conduct Authority must succeed where the FSA did not in raising standards and holding individuals to account. The Parliamentary Commission must now finish the job they have started and bring forward tough proposals for the Government to change the culture of banking and make banks work for their customers not bankers.